French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 111 The allure of the speech, mobilizing the Parisian populace (Seeking first subscription)

Many of the people who supported Troch yesterday now feel incredibly ashamed and angry.

Alain was trembling with rage, so angry he felt cold. The young Parisian finally understood how foolish he had been yesterday.

He almost helped a traitor destroy his own country.

"That's more like it," Eugene said, watching the Parisian crowd below, whose emotions had settled down somewhat. He allowed the crowd to remain calm until they continued speaking.

"Citizens, this is the president of the Republic that you support. For his own power, he is willing to sell out all of France and make us all slaves of the Prussians."

However, it's all over now. The rebellion has been quelled, and traitors like Troch have been captured. The civil war will not continue; we will no longer kill each other. Because our true enemy is not each other, but the Prussians.

Compared to the republic, which demanded surrender without firing a shot, the imperial system suddenly seemed much more appealing.

Even though Napoleon III surrendered, he had at least fought several battles, was unable to continue fighting, and surrendered when surrounded.

Without comparison, there is no harm; with comparison, even the empire seems much better. Under this subconscious influence, the people of Paris began to listen to Eugène more readily, and all eyes were focused on the impassioned Crown Prince.

"Hundreds of thousands of Prussian troops are advancing on Paris. They have occupied our land and slaughtered our compatriots. Now, they want to occupy our capital and enslave our people."

But I tell you, this will not frighten us. France will not yield, Paris will not yield!

Citizens, are you willing to surrender to the Prussians? Are you willing to watch your own people's land be occupied by the Prussians?

"We refuse! We don't want to!" The enormous shouts of over 10 people echoed throughout almost the entire city of Paris. Countless people, regardless of age or gender, were red-faced and shouting.

They couldn't imagine such a horrific scene. The people of Paris were not the epitome of being experts in civil wars but incompetent in foreign wars; they were people who treated both internal and external wars equally.

He nodded in satisfaction, seeing that he had stirred up the emotions of the Parisians, and their thoughts were now following his ideas.

Eugène raised his right hand and took the Bible from the guard with his left. Although the number of Catholics and Protestants in France was mixed and both denominations had considerable influence, the Bible was still widely used.

The Crown Prince's oath to the Bible successfully calmed the Parisian public, who had never witnessed such a scene before, from their initial outrage and uproar.

Everyone was listening intently, eager to know the contents of His Highness's oath, and Eugene's oath was certainly not to disappoint them.

Just like the rumors they had heard that morning, Eugène repeated his remarks in front of 100,000 people.

"I, Eugène Napoleon, hereby swear an oath to you, to the Bible, to God, and to the French nation."

I, the Crown Prince of the French Empire, will personally serve as Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, leading you to the front lines to fight the Prussians. I will live, eat, and fight alongside the soldiers.

I will defend Paris and France with my life. If I flinch in any way, if I betray France in any way, any of you may shoot me. If we are defeated, I will not flee; I will take my own life.

"Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Long live France!

Down with Prussia.

There's no rush to ascend the throne. It would be too hasty to do so at this time. We agreed to choose a political system before, so why rush to the throne now?

Eugene had made up his mind to wait until he had forced Prussia to retreat before relying on reform policies to fulfill his promises and what the French considered a victory in the war.

The immense prestige brought by these three factors allowed him to return to Paris as a victor, and on the day he was elected by a genuine National Assembly, he became the new emperor.

Eugene is a person who loves gambling. I don't know why, maybe it's due to his bloodline. Although he is a time traveler, Eugene is very similar to his great-uncle, Napoleon I, in this respect.

Napoleon dared to abandon his Egyptian expeditionary force just to return to Paris and gamble on an opportunity, while Eugène dared to gamble that he could force Prussia to retreat and rightfully usher in his own era.

After hearing Eugene's oath, I was amazed. I never expected to hear such a weighty oath. This crown prince is truly extraordinary.

The French people, deeply hurt by Troche or the Republicans, were experiencing their greatest emotional turmoil, and then received the oath from Eugène, a man of such stature and such a ruler.

With their emotions finding a new outlet, the crowd erupted in cheers even louder than before.

This time, the cheers were filled with joy, and it must be admitted that such strong words, which had never been seen or heard before, had moved everyone present.

They saw hope, the hope for the revival of France.

That's the power of a speech: when the nation is in peril, when the Republican leadership they support is about to betray the country, a man suddenly steps forward. The personal charisma he exudes at such a moment is immeasurable.

Alain, who was cheering loudly with the crowd, had tears in his eyes and was crying his whole body. He secretly vowed in his heart that he must join the Paris Legion, go to the front line to fight against the Prussians, avenge his brother, and fight for France.

Talking about political issues or reforms further would only dampen the current lively atmosphere. Eugène Napoleon concluded with his last sentence.

"Now, I call upon all French citizens to take up arms and join the Paris Legion. Let us fight to the very end, for the honor of France, for our homeland, for our families, and never compromise!"

"Join the Paris Legion!"

"Fight to the very end!"

As the shouts grew louder, emotions reached their peak. The power of the people was immense, but the backlash was equally powerful.

If Eugène fails to do so, and later, when the war situation turns unfavorable, he still wants to negotiate, then these French people who have placed their hopes on Eugène will teach him a lesson in no time.

However, in a life-or-death situation, Eugène was not lacking in the courage to gamble; he had nothing to lose.

Having already reversed the reality of the empire's overthrow, every step from now on would be a gain. Besides, Eugène didn't think Prussia was much stronger than France.

Historically, due to diplomatic pressure and a gradually mobilizing France, even with the republic as a surrendered government, Prussia struggled more and more. Eugène doesn't believe that Prussia can win again and again within French territory now that their national strengths are roughly equal.

Prussia had an advantage in artillery, but even Napoleon I, who also had an advantage in artillery, suffered defeats.

Eugene waved his hand, saying that the public needed an outlet for their emotions, so amidst the cheers of the crowd, Troch was escorted to the podium by two gendarmes.

When the people saw this traitor, their anger erupted again. Countless stones, rotten vegetable leaves, and eggs were thrown at Troch, leaving the half-term president with a bloody head and looking very disheveled.